Do You Understand What Alone Means?
by phantomoftheworld
Summary: Forever is pretty... well, vague. And forever is something that Katie doesn't have. Trent doesn't seem to understand this fact, no matter how much she tells him. And he doesn't let her go. But really, how hard is it to understand what alone means? (Currently Discontinued)
1. Chapter 1

**_So for those who've read my Night World FF before, welcome back. For those who haven't welcome! This is actually different from my normal stories, but I really like it all the same. So thanks for giving it a chance. _  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Meet Me, Myself, And My Past<strong>

Silence. That was really about it. In the last two minutes of ninth grade, it was completely and utterly silent. The last super-smart girl was going over her answers on her last final for the millionth time. Katie though that was stupid; you either knew the answers or you didn't. There was no reason to waste everyone else's time by trying to look smarter than everyone else. = Katie knew she didn't need to look smart; she knew she was smarter than that girl in her class (actually, she was the top of her class with the top test scores in the state). But of course in her preppy, small-minded school, no one seemed to know, or care for that matter. In fact, most people didn't notice the girl with dark brown hair sitting in the back of their classrooms. That would have been bad, if it hadn't been intentional.

"Thank you for entering this experimental Geography AP class this year, and thank you to the students who filled out the survey. I look forward to see some of you in Geography 2 AP next year. For now, have a great summer. Be safe." Katie smiled, and got out of her seat slowly; she'd done it. It was almost all over. She only needed about ten seconds before no one could stop her.

That's when she realized she'd jinxed it. And the universe doesn't just forget about these things.

"Oh, and Miss...,"even after a year of her sitting in the seat closest to her desk, the teacher couldn't remember her star student's last name. Finally giving up, Ms. Peterson finished, "Katie, will you come over here please dear." Nearly sweating with fear, Katie walked over, mentally cursing. She had been _so close_...

Looking at the expression on her student's face, Ms. Peterson nearly smirked. "Oh, dear, don't look at me like that. You're not in trouble; I was just wondering how your mother's doing?" Although the teacher never could have guessed it, this was the question Katie had been fearing most of all.

Gasping for air, Katie nearly choked out her words. "Oh, she's doing a lot better, Ms. Carter; in fact, I think she'll be one hundred-percent by late next week." The smile, which felt all wrong, went with the acid-like lying words Katie spoke.

Under any other circumstance, the teacher would have know. _Anyone _would have been able to guess that Katie was lying, that she didn't mean a word of what she was saying. And Ms. Peterson certainly wasn't the exception. So, in one last desperate move, Katie tapped her teachers hand. As always, the victims eyes relaxed slightly, a dazed expression coming over the teacher. After a moment, the she looked at Katie. "Oh, Katie, did you need something dear?"

Trying to hide her sad smile, and maybe a tear or two, Katie replied, "No, ma'm. I figured it out."

The teacher, obviously sensing a bit of disturbance, nodded at last, "I really enjoyed having you in my class. I'm glad to see your all signed up for next year with me."

Trying not to spoil the teacher's excitement, Katie said her last lie to the old woman. "Yeah, see you next year fall."

Slightly confused by her weary diction, the teacher gave the girl one last long stare before shrugging her shoulders. "If you ever need anything, just call dear."

"I will, thanks again," and this time, Katie had to physically leave to hold in her tears. But, of course, not before touching the side of her favorite teacher's hand. The dazed expression was still on her face as Katie left the classroom.

Holding in tears as she did, Katie ran right into one of the only boys she could stand in the school: Kyle Miller.

"Oh, I'm really sorry. Mr. McDonnell kept me after, you know how it is; they want to bug you on every last little thing, even when you were ready to go months ago. Everyone was ready for summer the second Michigan heat set in." He flashed one of his semi-famous smiles, though Katie wasn't really affected. Not to say he wasn't attractive; he was defiantly cute. Though his teeth were slightly crooked and his forehead and nose were slightly too big for his face, he was nice and quiet. He surely never bothered Katie, and was kind to her when she opened up. So, she should have been flustered, but instead she just felt _empty. _

"Yeah, Peterson did the same thing to me." Katie whispered back.

Obviously surprised by her tone, Kyle lowered his. "Are we being quiet for a reason?" He asked, a slight smile on his face.

And Katie, while holding in her previous tears, put on a small smile of her own. "Nah, just a headache; Geo was never one of my best."

Kyle laughed; he was one of the few people who realized just how smart she actually was. Under normal circumstances, he would have thought she was teasing him. But that's just how Katie was; surprisingly modest for such a tight-nit, competitive school. "_Sure_; now you're just mocking me. You know that I barley passed English this year."

This time Katie rolled her eyes and replied back in the same condescending tone, "You know, it'd help if you ever spoke in the class."

He grinned. "I don't know; I've never been good talking around a big group of people before."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "You're talking to me just."

He shrugged, this time slightly bashful. "You're different. More like me; not so into all this," he finished, gesturing around the school.

This time Katie just shrugged; there wasn't really that much to say to that. After a moment of hesitation, Kyle followed with, "Look, I'm going out of town this summer. I'm living with my dad in Boston, but we should text. Maybe hang out next year."

And it was those two little words that brought Katie back down to Earth. _Next year_. They seemed so very harmless. That, of course, was unless you were a girl planning on disappearing. "Um, sure. But I really have to go," Katie turned to leave, but Kyle grabbed her hand.

"You can't very well text me without my number; let me get a pen." He dug into his backpack and pulled out a black pen. "Hold out your hand." Katie did as she was asked, and Kyle wrote the digits on a tiny slip of yellow paper and dropped it inside her palm. And though Katie knew she would have to throw it away right when she get home, it felt nice to be cared about, even only for a second.

"Well, um, I got to go." She said after a few awkward moments of silence.

He took no offense, only smiled. "Yeah, me too. I've been in here too long already; my brother's going to kill me. I still haven't packed yet, and my flights in five hours." And that was when she should have touched his hand and made him forget. Forget her. But, something inside Katie made her hesitate, then draw her hand back. Kyle glanced at her hand oddly before finally saying. "Well, bye."

Katie nodded, "See you. " And with that little lie of an ending, she walked the opposite way, to the back doors of the school, cursing when she looked at her cheep digital watch for the time. Ten minutes until she missed the last city bus and she had to walk all the way home. Nearly running down a sidewalk, Katie jogged down the town. Past the dinner she'd grown up eating in, past the little dry-cleaners, the little homemade pastry shop, and the Target; the store people here used for everything. It' hurt to know it was probably the last time she'd ever see any of the shops again.

Making it with less than two minutes to go, the bus driver reopened the doors, and gestured her in. "Just in time kid, get in." The bus driver, whose name was Mel, smiled and said. He was the same bus driver she'd rode with for nearly ten years, yet he didn't know her name. Not anymore, not ever again. She'd _made _him forget her. And though Katie knew it was for the best, it still hurt.

Nodding, Katie took a window seat towards the back. A few other kids from school were chatting away, but none of them recognized her. She only knew a couple of them, and felt no need to talk. Instead, she looked out the window of her last ride, taking in the forest scenery of northern Michigan. Twenty-five minutes later, the bus stopped on the corner rode, a five minute walk from her house. Getting up out of her seat, Katie took out a dollar, and put it into the bucket. Mel looked at her in surprise "It's only fifty cents, kid."

She smiled. "Keep the change."

Mel smiled genuinely at her, and she almost though he remembered. Until she heard his business tone. "Thanks kid." And, knowing she'd just made a memory, she tapped his hand quickly. Not bothering to contain her tears as she walked home.

And what a home it was. A little house with only two small bedrooms. It was a wondering it was still standing; it made out of brick and was almost fifty-years-old. Not to mention it hadn't been redone in almost twenty years. To put it simply, her house didn't look like much. In fact, until last year, she'd always thought it was sort of a dump. But, stupid and cliché as it sounded, it had been _her _dump. And now it was going to be gone from her too. And that was just too much.

With no reason to lock it before she'd gone to school, the door opened easily now. "Mom, I'm home." She whispered. "It was a good day, Mom, I know I did good on all my tests. You'd have been proud, if you saw the reports. And I was wrong, Mom, I think there might be a couple people who will actually miss me here. People who care. I wish I could tell you, Mom."

Katie sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. With her eyes closed, Katie could hear her mom come in the door and greet her, asking her how her day was and what she wanted for dinner. Her mother's lilac perfume would wafer through the house and it's cheap smell, though odd, would be relieving and familiar. With her eyes closed, this was all possible.

It was just when Katie opened her eyes that she had to face her reality. Her mom was gone, and she was never coming back, no matter how much Katie wanted her too. No matter how much Katie _needed _her to. For now, Katie was all alone in the world. And she'd have to make do with that. She'd began to accept it, even.

Which of course wouldn't explain why there was a knock at the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey readers, I know this is a little late, but here it is :) Enjoy!_**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Only One Left<strong>

At first, Katie gasped. _No one _from school knew where she lived. Even the address card on her student file had been erased so that not a sole could tell who she was. And not only that, but Katie had pretty much wiped the memory of everyone she saw. So no one, absolutely no one, should have been knocking at her door.

It wasn't the kind of neighborhood for solicitors or politicians. No, those were the middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods. Katie, and formally her mother, weren't either of those things, though saying they were poor would be inaccurate; they were just under privileged. Katie knew that they had always had enough to get by, unlike a lot of families in the neighborhood. They had a house to live in, however old, and warm a meal on the table every night. Katie had been accepted into the nice public high school in the suburbs, and no one could tell; no one noticed she was different from any of the rest of the kids.

Oddly enough, Katie didn't hesitate that long going to the door. If someone still remembered her, well, it was best to erase herself from them before she left. No one needed to know that she ever was here (she thought of Kyle, and decided that he didn't really count, knowing that he wouldn't go looking for her next year.) As Katie opened the door, she gasped, half in surprise, half in frustration.

Dark brown, nearly black hair was met with two large (and somewhat gorgeous) dark green eyes. His face was dotted with freckles, and his smile, though slightly mocking, wasn't without a trace of kindness. His beat up jeans (probably his only pair) were held up, thankfully, with a faded brown belt (sagging was ridiculous, Katie had always thought. No reason to make yourself look poor.) A pair of old knock-off brand sneakers that looked like they were about to fall apart were on his feet. And all of this was attached to a boy that Katie had known very well once. Who she was sure she'd erased.

So, he should never have been able to find her. Yet here he was. Katie realized she was gawking, and turned away, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Trent, what are you doing here."

This big green eyes laced with confusion. "I just wanted to see how your mom and you were doing. Everyone around the neighborhood was going to check, but somehow they seemed to have forgot. But I still came, you know, to see." Katie tried not to wince at his grammar mistake. It wasn't his fault that he was poor, after all. And, not to mention, that his grammar was better than a lot of kids on the street.

"It's no big deal, we're doing just fine on our own, thanks for asking. But it's really not a big deal." Katie tried without much successes, to keep the sadness out of her voice.

And Trent was nothing if not observant. "Katie, what's wrong?" At this point, Katie gave him a long, hard look. He was sort-of cute, in a nontraditional way. Smart, at least compared to most of the kids around here. They'd been friends since they were eight-years-old. Back before she found about her "gifts".

It would have been a lot easier if she hated him. The heroines in the novels she read hated their love interests at first, which she'd always found dumb. Why would you want to do anything with someone you hated? But Katie had never hated Trent, or had any strong feelings, really, other than friendship.

Yet, besides all that, she knew that he was too much of a loose end. He was the type of boy who'd ask questions. And as much as she didn't want to, Katie knew that she had to erase herself from him. Without much though, she tapped his hand, and was about to carefully lead him out the door.

"What in the world are you doing, Katie?" With a slight involuntary gasp, she looked back at him. There was no trace of the dizziness, the confusion that filled everyone else's vision. He seemed alert, if not confused only by her actions.

Well _that _was new. "What's my name?" She asked quickly; after all, there was no way he could remember her.

"Are you stoned, or what? Your Katie Penrose. Age 14; which young for going on 10th grade, but your birthday's next month. Um, I believe your favorite color's yellow."

With shock Katie replied, "It's orange, and I'm _not _stoned. Just a little confused. And you should really leave."

She was about to slam the door in his face when he caught it with his hand. "Katie, what's going on?" And then, almost as an afterthought, he added in a quiet voice, "where's your mom?"

And moment was the one that Katie decided that she could no longer take any more of this and preceded to burst into tears.

Most of everything happened in the next two minutes. Obviously shocked, Trent just stared for a second before focusing. Then he quickly came in and shut and locked the door. Her grabbed her arm semi-awkwardly and walked her over to their beat-up couch and let her sit down.

After a brief hesitation, he turned to leave her, but Katie caught his arm. "Don't go." And though Katie had never wanted to have to say them, it felt so good to let someone in.

Trent nodded and sat down next to her, after a second he wrapped his arm around her, and Katie leaned in and cried into his chest. For the next five minutes, Katie didn't think about what she had to do. She didn't think about all the people she was leaving behind. She didn't even think about her mother. Instead, she let the sadness consume her. Then, like being awaked for the first time, she sat up, and wiped away a few stray tears from her eyes.

Trent stopped, as if hesitating to go on, then finally deciding. "Can you please tell me what happened?"

"Can you promise not to tell?"

A humorless laugh echoed through the house as Trent gestured around. "Who in the world am I going to tell around here?"

Katie shrugged, then swallowed. Saying the whole thing, the truth, was just too real for her anymore. "About two weeks ago, I came home to an empty house. Which isn't all that weird; my mom isn't usually home until six or seven. But as I was making dinner, I didn't notice but it was already nine. Then ten o'clock. And then I realized my mom was never coming home."

Trent was silent for a moment. This obviously wasn't what he expected to hear. "But how do you know?"

Katie opened her mouth to explain about her gift, but quickly closed it. There was no way he would understand. So instead, she made up an easy lie. "She left me a note. Told me that something bad happened, and that she couldn't come back again." Now, Katie knew she couldn't say anything about the gift, but she could explain her mission. "I always thought I didn't have any living family. But I was wrong; my mom left me a book. A family tree of sorts. At first I didn't understand, because it looked like all the people inside were dead. But when I looked closer, I saw that my mom's mom , my grandma, doesn't have a disease date next to her name. And there's even an address."

Realization sparked into his eyes. "So that's where you're going." Though it wasn't phrased like a question, Katie felt she had to answer.

"Yes." Katie could see all the objection's forming on Trent's lips so she continued, "Where else am I going to go?"

Trent remained silent for a moment for a few seconds. Then, in an instant, he hastily pulling something from his back pocket. With a dry, nearly scary smile he replied, "I have an idea.

* * *

><p><em>Cliffhanger, I know ;0 But comments will make me update faster :)<em>


End file.
